BELLEFONTE — Ray Bilger of Bellefonte, Pa., officially announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for the 15th Congressional District on Thursday, Feb. 12.
The announcement was made at the Bellefonte Art Museum at 3 p.m.
Bilger is a U.S. Air Force veteran, where he was a military intelligence specialist. He served in both Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Over a career spanning 35 years and in nearly as many countries, Bilger was a security officer and intelligence analyst, leading teams for the Air Force, National Security Agency, and State Department.
In the late 1990s, Bilger was Balkans Special Operations Team Lead for the NSA and was awarded the USA Commander’s Civilian Service Award. From 2015-2017, he worked as NSA Technical Director for Cyber Analysis.
“I am running to represent the people of the 15th District because they are struggling to put food on their tables and face no health care in their communities,” Bilger said. “I grew up in Bellefonte but had to leave the area to find real opportunities. I returned three years ago and found nothing has changed for many residents, especially over the past 16 years.”
Bilger was raised in the Bellefonte area and attended Bellefonte High School, playing catcher on the 1977 baseball team that reached the PIAA state tournament.
Bilger also attended Penn State University but entered military service in 1986 when he realized he could not afford to complete his college education.
Bilger said his political platform centers on affordability for all, safety for all, and opportunity and hope for the younger generation to remain in the 15th District and have opportunities to thrive.
“I wake up every day seeing more and more bad news for our nation and local communities,” Bilger said. “I simply can’t walk away from this. I am just hard-wired to care.
“I’m a combat veteran,” Bilger continued. “The United States government for the past 40 years entrusted me to make the hard decisions and to solve hard problems. We need real leadership. I’m going to put my expertise to work here. That is the mission. We solve hard problems. We work for the people, not ourselves.”
While abroad, Bilger met his wife Danuta in Poland, and they raised their son Alex overseas and in the United States. Bilger returned to the area in 2020.
